Daily Express

DISTRESSED AMANDA’S MERCY-DASH WAS THE RIGHT CALL

- By Liz Perkins

JI’M GLAD the hate-storm over Amanda Holden’s Covid-rule-breaking dash refuses to materialis­e. Amanda received an extremely distressin­g phone call from her elderly parents in the south west and decided she needed to go down, immediatel­y, to sort the crisis out. Both her parents had already been vaccinated against Covid. Amanda herself, because of her work with ITV, is tested twice weekly and knew she was negative. The journey was in a sealed car – she didn’t stop – and after spending a single night at the family home, she returned.

She apologised for breaking rules but felt she had no choice.

She didn’t go to a rave or throw a party for them. She made exactly the kind of judgment we are all entitled to make under such stressful circumstan­ces: I’d have done EXACTLY the same and so would Richard.

I hope the self-righteous snitch who blabbed to the police is proud of themselves.

BRITAIN’S strictest smoking rules are being introduced inWales – to fine parents £100 for lighting up at playground­s and outside school yards.

The new rules will see mums and dads facing fines for having a quick smoke while waiting for their kids in outdoor areas.

It means anyone spotted sparking up outside hospitals, schools and at the childminde­rs will face £100 penalty.Welsh Government minister

Eluned Morgan said: “We know the harm smoking can do to health and so we’re introducin­g these new requiremen­ts for the benefit of future generation­s.

“Banning smoking outside hospitals and places where children and young people spend their time, such as public playground­s and school grounds, will denormalis­e smoking and reduce the chances of children and young people starting smoking in the first place.

“We are proud to be the first part of the UK to outlaw smoking in these areas and once again leading the way.”

The ban is set to come into force at the start of March.

The move will also be extended to include self-contained holiday cottages, caravans and Airbnbs by March 1 the following year.

COCAINE worth up to £184million has been seized after being stashed in a consignmen­t of bananas.

The National Crime Agency said the seizure of around 2.3 tons of the Class A drug is one of the largest in the UK.

Five men were arrested after taking delivery of the pallets at an industrial estate in Tottenham, north London, on Thursday, in an armed raid involving the Met Police, Border Force and NCA. Five more were held in Enfield.

The cocaine had already been removed by Border Force officers at Portsmouth on Sunday after the consignmen­t arrived on a ship from Colombia on Saturday packaged in banana boxes.

Three men have been charged with the importatio­n of Class A drugs, while the other seven remain in police custody.

 ??  ?? New rules will ‘denormalis­e smoking’
New rules will ‘denormalis­e smoking’

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom